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After uncle's execution, what's next for Kim Jong Un?

A stooped figure in handcuffs, condemned by a military tribunal, then taken for immediate execution Thursday, Jang Song Thaek is now vilified as "traitor" and "human scum" in North Korea, where until recently he counted as its second most powerful figure.

After uncle's execution, what's next for Kim Jong Un?

North Korea said Friday that it had executed Kim Jong Un's uncle as a traitor for trying to seize supreme power, a stunning end for the leader's former mentor, long considered the country's No. 2 official. (Dec. 12)
AP

Jang Song-thaek is escorted in court on December 12, 2013. North Korea has executed him, the uncle of its leader Kim Jong Un, after a shock purge, state news agency KCNA announced early on Dec. 13, branding the once-powerful man a "traitor."(Photo: Yonhap via AFP/Getty Images)

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North Korea executed Jang Song Thaek, uncle and mentor of ruler Kim Jung Un, on Thursday

Kim is consolidating his rule, promoting a younger generation of loyalists, analysts say

BEIJING — A stooped figure in handcuffs, condemned by a military tribunal, then taken for immediate execution Thursday, Jang Song Thaek is now vilified as "traitor" and "human scum" in North Korea, where until recently he counted as its second-most-powerful figure.

The dramatic downfall of Jang, the uncle and apparent mentor of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, surprised even veteran observers of the brutal regime founded by Kim's grandfather. Many analysts agree Kim Jong Un, 30, is trying to consolidate his rule, but the wider implications for this tightly sealed state remain as tough to fathom as ever, they said.

In the South Korean capital of Seoul on Friday, security ministers quickly convened a meeting to discuss "analysis and predictions," reported the Yonhap news agency. Pyongyang has regularly threatened South Korea and its main ally the USA, which maintains thousands of troops there.

North Korea watchers worldwide are likewise scrambling to make sense of Kim Jong Un's move against the husband of his aunt Kim Kyong Hui, sister of Kim's father Kim Jong Il, the nation's previous ruler.

"His father and grandfather got rid of a lot of people, but did it in a very quiet manner, not making big news out of it," said Tong Kim, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul, who expects the aunt, as a direct blood relative, will survive.

Kim Jong Un and his close associates "must have felt intimidated if not threatened, so decided to get rid of Jang first," Tong Kim said.

"No one can be sure what this young leader may do," he added, but his priority must be stabilizing the domestic political situation. That leaves little room for the North Korean leader to consider military provocations in the West Sea or another nuclear test, at least for now, Tong Kim said.

Azalea, whose Korean name is "Dalle", a 19-year-old female chimpanzee, smokes a cigarette at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea Oct. 19, 2016. According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it was re-opened in July, the chimpanzee smokes about a pack a day. They insist, however, that she does not inhale.
Wong Maye-E, AP

Residents look up at a big screen TV in front of Pyongyang railway station showing television presenter Ri Chun-Hee officially announcing that the country successfully tested a nuclear warhead earlier in the day on Sept. 9, 2016.
North Korea has successfully tested a nuclear warhead, it said which said the "maniacal recklessness" of young ruler Kim Jong-Un would lead to self-destruction.
Kim Won-Jin, AFP/Getty Images

A North Korean man gulps down a glass of draft beer during a beer drinking competition held Aug. 12, 2016 in Pyongyang. This competition was held during a beer festival along the Taedong River in the North Korean capital.
Kim Kwang Hyon, AP

A surface-to-surface medium long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-10, also known by the name of Musudan missile, being launched at an undisclosed location, North Korea. According to South Korea and Japan's officials, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile off its east coast early Aug 3, 2016.
KCNA, via European Pressphoto Agency

North Korean soldiers peep into a conference room in the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission Conference Building during a ceremony marking the 63rd anniversary of the signing of the Korean War ceasefire armistice agreement at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea.
Kim Hong-Ji, AP

Military personnel stand during a rally at Kim Il Sung Square July 2, 2016, in Pyongyang. They were celebrating the new title of chairman of the new State Affairs Commission given to leader Kim Jong Un at a meeting of its national parliament.
Kim Kwang Hyon, AP

A missile is fired during a drill by Hwasong artillery units of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army, photo released on July 21, 2016 . North Korea said its latest ballistic missile tests trialled detonation devices for possible nuclear strikes on US targets in South Korea and were personally monitored by supreme leader Kim Jong-Un.
KCNA, AFP/Getty Images

A metro employee on board the newest cars at the Puhung metro station in Pyongyang, April, 13, 2016. They have one of the deepest metros in the world consisting of two lines with these recently added new cars.
Franck Robichon, EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

A live-shell firing drill by artillery sub-units under large combined units of the North Korean Army, is shown in this undated photo, under the simulated conditions of beating back enemy forces conducting a surprise night landing. The photo was released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 12, 2016.
KCNA via AFP/Getty Images

Kim Jong Un, left, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, issues an order to conduct the ground jet test of a new type high-power engine of inter-continental ballistic rocket and comes to the Sohae Space Center to guide the test.
KCNA via EPA

A rocket is displayed during the Immortal Flower Festival 'Kimilsungia' in Pyongyang, North Korea on April 13, 2016. The country is preparing to mark the 'Day of the Sun' celebrating the day of birth of the country's founder, Kim Il-Sung. on April 15.
Franck Robichon, EPA

An image of the operation of a new type large-caliber multiple rocket launching system at an undisclosed location in North Korea is released from KCNA on March 24, 2016. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has claimed an "historic" advance in the country's nuclear strike capability with the successful test of a solid-fuel rocket engine, state media said.
KCNA via AFP/Getty Images

A large mosaic representing Kim Il-Sung, left, and Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang suburbs, North Korea is shown on April 12, 2016. An ethnic Korean U.S. citizen was sentenced to 10 years in jail for espionage.
Franck Robichon, EPA

Newly manufactured shoes are seen at Wonsan Shoes Factory in the Kangwon Province, March 14, 2016. North Koreans are being mobilized en masse to boost production and demonstrate their loyalty to leader Kim Jong Un in a 70-day campaign aimed at wiping out "indolence and slackness." To show their loyalty, workers are putting in extra hours to boost production in everything from coal mining to fisheries.
Kim Kwang Hyon, AP

This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 2, 2016 shows a missile test of a new-type anti-air guided weapon system at an unknown location.
KCNA, AFP/Getty Images

A man rides his bicycle in front of a portion of the Great Wall on Hwanggumpyong Island, which is located in the middle of the Yalu River between the North Korean town of Sinuiju and the Chinese town of Dandong, on Feb. 9, 2016.
Johannes Eisele, AFP/Getty Images

A North Korean soldier smokes a cigarette on the banks of the Yalu River in the North Korean town of Sinuiju, in an image taken from across the river in the Chinese border town of Dandong Feb. 8, 2016.
Johannes Eisele, AFP/Getty Images

North Korean veterans gather before the start of a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. Leader Kim Jong Un declared that his country was ready to stand up to any threat posed by the United States as he spoke at a lavish military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the North's ruling party and trumpet his third-generation leadership on Oct. 10, 2015.
Maye-E Wong, AP

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un watches a military firing contest in a photo released Jan. 5, 2016. Reports did not specify when Kim viewed the contest, but it is presumed to be his first military-related field guidance of 2016.
Rodong Sinmun via European Pressphoto Agency

Hyeon Soo Lim, pastor of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, is escorted to his sentencing in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Dec. 16, 2015. North Korea's Supreme Court sentenced him to life in prison with hard labor for what it called crimes against the state.
Jon Chol Jin, AP

This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 14, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting the construction site of the Paektusan Hero Youth power station in Ryanggaung province.
KCNA via AFP/Getty Images

A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party, on Sept. 8, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center front, and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, second from right, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first vice-president of the Council of State, watching an art performance by the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 7, 2015. Bermudez led a Cuban delegation to North Korea to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Cuba.
Rodong Sinmun, European Pressphoto Agency

Portaits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il glow on the facade of a building as the Juche Tower, top left, one of the city's landmarks, is seen in the background at dawn in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Aug. 19, 2015.
Dita Alangkara, AP

People line up Aug. 16, 2015, at kiosk in Pyongyang, North Korea. Street stalls that offer North Koreans a place to spend -- or make -- money on everything from snow cones to DVDs are flourishing in Pyongyang and other North Korean cities, modest but growing forms of private commerce in a country where capitalism is officially anathema.
Dita Alangkara, AP

A newlywed couple pose, during a photo shoot on Sijung Ho beach in North Korea, on Aug. 18, 2015. The couple gathered with their friends and family members to have their pictures taken after their wedding ceremony.
Dita Alangkara, AP

People dance during the celebration of the Liberation Day as the portrait of North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il are seen in the background at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Aug. 15, 2015. Thousands of people take part in the celebration that commemorates the 17th anniversary of the liberation of the Koreas from Japanese colonial rule.
Dita Alangkara, AP

North Koreans bow in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Munsu Hill, July 27, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreans gathered to offer flowers and pay their respects to their late leaders as part of celebrations for the 62nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War.
Wong Maye-E, AP

Staff wait at the check-in counters of the new international airport terminal building at Pyongyang airport, July 1, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The unveiling underscores an effort to attract more tourists and to spruce up the country ahead of the celebration of a major anniversary of the founding of its ruling Worker's Party in October this year.
Kim Kwang Hyon, AP

An Air Koryo plane sits on the tarmac in front of the new Pyongyang International Airport terminal building, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Air Koryo is the only carrier to have been awarded just one star in rankings released recently by the UK-based SkyTrax consultancy agency.
Wong Maye-E, AP

Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant "defend!" as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the "Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.," attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the "Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month" and it's a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment.
Wong Maye-E, AP

A farmer stands in front of a field June 24, 2015, in South Hwanghae, North Korea. There has been almost no rain in this part of the country, according to farmers and local officials interviewed by the Associated Press. While the situation in the area that the AP visited looks grim, it is unclear how severe the drought is in the rest of the country.
Wong Maye-E, AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, center, visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on April 15 to celebrate the 103rd birthday of his grandfather, the late president Kim Il-Sung, in Pyongyang.
KCNA, AFP/Getty Images

Soldiers and citizens rally at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, to protest a United Nations resolution condemning their country's human rights record Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. Protesters at the rally Tuesday on the square carried banners praising their leaders and condemning the United States. The banner in the center reads: "Let's defend with our lives the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea headed by supreme leader Kim Jong Un."
Jon Chol Jin, AP

North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run.
Kim Kwang Hyon, AP

This picture taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 17 shows North Korean people offering prayers before portraits of late leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang for the third anniversary of late leader Kim Jong-Il.
Korean News Service via, AFP/Getty Images

This handout picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 9, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un holding up a boy as he joins a photo session with the participants in the second meeting of Korean People's Army exemplary servicemen's families in Pyongyang.
Korean News Service via, AFP/Getty Images

An undated picture from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 5, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting the new year combat and political drill of the Korean People's Army
Korean News Service via, AFP/Getty Images

Women sweep around the statues of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sun, left, and Jong Il on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il on Dec. 16 in Pyongyang.
David Guttenfelder, AP

Jang Song-thaek is escorted in court on Dec. 12. The uncle of leader Kim Jong Un was executed after a shocking purge, with the state branding the once-powerful man a "traitor."
Yonhap via AFP/Getty Images

Jang enjoyed a reputation as an able project and personnel manager, but he belonged to the older generation, while Kim "needs a coalition of younger loyalists," said Daniel Pinkston, senior analyst for the International Crisis Group in Seoul.

"North Korea is a centralized, authoritarian dictatorship, and that's how personnel turnover happens in dictatorships," he said of Jang's execution.

Pinkston's latest visit to North Korea last month confirmed the control the Kim dynasty exerts. "The intensity of the Kim family cult is arguably stronger than it ever was," he said.

As for foreign relations, in a region long troubled by Pyongyang's belligerence and "military first" policies, "North Korea has a hostile orientation towards the rest of the world, and I don't see that changing for now," Pinkston said.

Even China, the North's single significant ally and key source of food and fuel, is worried by Kim's actions, said Cai Jian, a North Korea expert at Fudan University in Shanghai.

"Beijing won't invite Kim to visit in the short term, because Beijing is not happy about some of his policies," Cai said. Unlike his father, a regular guest whose visits prompted hope of Chinese-style economic reforms, Kim has yet to visit China during his two years in power.

Several of the charges against Jang, who previously steered economic relations with China, mention a "foreign country" and "show Kim Jong Un doesn't want to rely too much on China like before," Cai said. Still, Jang's removal will "postpone" but not cancel economic co-operation between the two countries, he added.

South Korean media have reported that two North Korean vice premiers fled to China after Jang's downfall, but Cai doubted Beijing would risk further damaging relations with Pyongyang by providing asylum.

China's stubborn loyalty to its neighbor sparks increasing questions from some of its citizens.

"Kim Jong Un's regime is so evil, it's crueler than the fascists," wrote Liao Rui, a lawyer in southwest Sichuan province, on China's Twitter equivalent, Sina Weibo. "China unexpectedly still wants to align with this kind of evil regime and support them, (but) sooner or later, they will bite and betray China."

"Nobody knows what this means for stability in North Korea," David Straub, director of the Korean Studies Program at Stanford University, told the NK News website. "It could, for a time, mean more stability, it could mean less stability," he said.

"Sooner or later there will be a dramatic dis-juncture in North Korea — whether it's for the better or worse, time will tell," Straub added. "But that kind of regime cannot stay, it is strong but very brittle."